African Publishing Innovation Fund to Improve Access to Education, Books, and Literacy Skills for 11 Million Young Africans

African Publishing Innovation Fund to Improve Access to Education, Books, and Literacy Skills for 11 Million Young Africans

Sharjah – March 10, 2021: The African Publishing Innovation Fund (APIF) – a grant program co-led by the UAE-based global philanthropic organization Dubai Cares and implemented by the International Publishers Association (IPA) – has chosen five projects across Africa to receive USD 170,000 in funding in 2021. The APIF Committee, chaired by IPA President Bodour Al Qasimi selected the winners from 311 applications received from 26 African countries.

This is the second iteration of the grants program, which is funded by a four-year, USD 800,000 commitment from Dubai Cares. Due to the closure of schools and transition to online learning in response to COVID-19, the APIF prioritized scalable digital learning innovations to help the millions of African students in under-resourced rural communities. Many of them are beyond the reach of national efforts to transition to remote learning and do not have access to libraries.

The initiatives to receive grants that will collectively impact 11 million young Africans in five countries are:

Ghana: As schools shifted online due to COVID-19, girls in rural communities have faced challenges in accessing online learning due to a significant urban-rural digital divide. With online learning reaching only 70% of school-age children, the Learners Girls Foundation will support 400